Cells (cell transport/communication)

Question 1

A certain type of specialized cell contains an unusually large amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) .

Which of the following functions is this cell type most likely specialized to perform?

Answer 1

The production and secretion of proteins

Question 2

Which of the following cellular deficiencies would most likely be related to mutations in mitochondrial proteins?

Answer 2

The cell is unable to complete reactions related to electron transport and ATP production.

Question 3

A scientist is studying the various prokaryotic and eukaryotic species found floating in a sample of water taken from a marine ecosystem.

Which cellular component will be found in the widest range of organisms in the sample?

Answer 3

The ribosome, since all organisms need to synthesize proteins.

Question 4

In an experiment, researchers provided a radiolabeled amino acid to living plant cells. After one hour, the researchers determined the amount of the radiolabeled amino acid that was in each of several subcellular compartments. The results of the experiment are represented in the table.

RELATIVE AMOUNTS OF RADIOLABELED AMINO ACID

Nucleus Mitochondria Endoplasmic Reticulum Cytosol
2.1 2.7 1.9 1
Which of the following conclusions about the radiolabeled amino acid is best supported by the results of the experiment?

Answer 4

It was mostly incorporated into proteins that regulate and manage metabolic reactions.

Question 5

Researchers conducted an experiment to investigate the effects of a valinomycin treatment on skeletal muscle cells. Valinomycin is a naturally occurring substance that can be used as a drug. The results of the experiment are presented in the table.

Relative Rates of ATP Production
Time after Treatment Untreated Cells Valinomycin-Treated Cells
5 minutes 1.0 0.3
10 minutes 7.7 2.7
Which of the following claims about the effects of the valinomycin treatment is best supported by the data presented in the table?

Answer 5

The valinomycin treatment caused a decrease in the activity of the mitochondria.

Question 6

In an experiment, researchers compared the growth of two different plants, plant X and plant Y. The researchers maintained the plants under nearly identical conditions and observed that plant X grew faster than plant Y. The researchers also observed that the inner mitochondrial membranes of plant X had more folds than did those of plant Y.

Which of the following conclusions about increasing the number of folds in the inner mitochondrial membrane is best supported by the results of the experiment?

Answer 6

It increases the surface area available for ATP production, which results in faster cell growth.

Question 7

Some cells, such as intestinal cells, exchange a lot of material with their surroundings. The surface-to-volume ratio of these cells affects the efficiency of material exchange.

The table provides measurements of four different eukaryotic cells.

Cell 1 2 3 4
Total surface area (μm2) 40 60 80 100
Total volume (μm3) 20 10 30 20
Based on the data, which cell is likely to be most effective in the exchange of materials?

Answer 7

Cell 2

Question 8

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) is a disorder of red blood cells that causes the cells to be smaller and spherical instead of having the usual flattened, biconcave shape. The average diameter of normal red blood cells is 7.2μm, and the average diameter of red blood cells in a person with HS was found to be 6.7μm. The normal red blood cell has an average surface area of 136μm2 and an average volume of 91μm3.

Which of the following provides an accurate calculation of the surface area to volume ratio of an HS red blood cell, as well as a prediction of its effect on the efficient transferring of oxygen compared to a normal red blood cell?

Answer 8

The ratio is 0.89 , and the cells are less efficient at transferring oxygen.

Question 9

Stomata are pores on the surfaces of the leaves and stems of plants that regulate gas exchange between the plants and the atmosphere.

Researchers found that the stomata density on the leaves of a species of plant change as the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere changes. When grown at 350 ppm CO2 the plant has an average density of 300 stomata per mm2, but when grown at 400 ppm CO2 the plant has an average density of 250 stomata per mm2.

Which of the following best describes how the ratio of the density of stomata (stomata per mm2) per CO2 concentration (ppm CO2) changes as the CO2 concentration increases?

Answer 9

The ratio decreases from 0.86 to 0.63 , because fewer stomata are needed at higher CO2 concentrations.

Question 10

Figure 1. Testosterone movement across the cellular membrane

The figure presents a cellular membrane bilayer. A point between two lipid molecules on the outer surface of the membrane is labeled 1. A protein associated only with the outer surface membrane is labeled 2. A channel protein embedded in the membrane is labeled 3. A solid appearing protein with an extracellular chain of sugars is embedded in the membrane and is labeled 4.
Testosterone is a small steroid hormone that is important in cell signaling. Which of the following describes where testosterone enters a cell and why it is able to cross at that point?

Answer 10

1, testosterone is nonpolar and can diffuse through the membrane.

Question 11

The figure shows a representation of a protein embedded in a cell membrane. The numbers indicate different structural regions of the protein.

The figure presents a cell membrane lipid bilayer. A protein is embedded in one half of the bilayer. The exposed surface of the protein that protrudes from the membrane is labeled 1, and the part of the protein that associates with the fatty acid tails in the interior of the membrane is labeled 2.
Based on the figure, which of the following statements best describes the relationship between regions 1 and 2 of the protein?

Answer 11

Region 1 is hydrophilic because it interacts with an aqueous environment, whereas region 2 is hydrophobic because it interacts with the interior of the membrane.

Question 12

Cholesterol is a naturally occurring substance that helps regulate the fluidity of a cell’s plasma membrane. A cholesterol molecule can be represented as having a polar head and a nonpolar region, as shown in the figure.

The figure presents a cholesterol molecule. A black dot indicates the polar head, which is attached to a nonpolar region that is represented by a sequence of four hexagons or a pentagon, each of which shares one side with the previous and/or next component of the region.
Which of the following models shows how cholesterol molecules most likely interact with the phospholipid bilayer of a cell’s plasma membrane?

Answer 12

D. he model correctly shows the polar heads of the cholesterol molecules interacting with the polar heads of the phospholipids. Also, the model correctly shows the nonpolar regions of the cholesterol molecules interacting with the hydrophobic interior of the phospholipid bilayer.

Question 13

Intravenous (IV) therapy is used for fluid replacement in instances of dehydration in humans and other animals. One type of IV fluid is essentially a saltwater solution. To determine the best concentration for therapy in people, a team of students is researching the effects of solutions of different salt concentrations on red blood cells. The following observations were made from three different red blood cell samples viewed under a microscope.

The figure presents three blood cells. The left cell is swollen, the middle cell is of normal disc shape, and the right cell is shrunken and irregular.
0.3% Saline (Cells swell) 0.9% Saline (Cells unchanged) 1.5% Saline (Cells shrink)

The team wants to extend the research project. What should the team of students do next to obtain data that are more conclusive?

Answer 13

Repeat the process with other salt concentrations.

Question 14

Certain bacteria can use both ethyl alcohol and acetate as sources of nutrients. In an experiment where both nutrients are available to a bacterial population, the following results were obtained and graphed.

The figure presents two curves in the first quadrant of a coordinate plane, titled “Movement of Nutrients into Bacterial Cells.” The horizontal axis is labeled Concentration Outside Cells, in milimolarity, and the numbers 0.1, 1.0, 10.0, and 100.0 are indicated at equal intervals. The vertical axis is labeled Rate of Entry of Substance, in micromoles per minute, and the numbers 10, 100, and 1,000 are indicated at equal intervals. The first curve, labeled Acetate, is a straight line that begins at the point 0.1 milimolar, 1.5 micromoles per minute, and moves upward and to the right, passing through the point 1.0 milimolar, 10.4 micromoles per minute. The curve then passes through the point 10.0 milimolars, 107 micromoles per minute, and ends at the point 100.0 milimolars, 1,020 micromoles per minute. The second curve, labeled Ethyl Alcohol, begins at the point 0.1 millimolar, 7 micromoles per minute, and moves gradually upward and to the right, passing through the point 1.0 millimolar, 20 micromoles per minute. It then passes through the point 10.0 millimolar, 35 micromoles per minute, and ends at the point 100.0 milimolar, 50 micromoles per minute.
What additional procedure would best help determine whether these movements are due to active transport or to passive transport?

Answer 14

Use two additional treatments, one containing only ethyl alcohol and one containing only acetate. Include a substance known to block ATP use by the plasma membrane. Compare the graphs of these two treatments to the original graph.

Question 15

Researchers investigate the transport of a certain protein into cells by endocytosis. In an experiment, the researchers incubate the cells in the presence of the protein and measure the amount of the protein that is absorbed into the cells over a five-minute period.

Based on their observations, what should the researchers do to further clarify how the availability of the protein outside the cells affects the rate of endocytosis of the protein?

Answer 15

Incubate the cells in the presence of several different concentrations of the protein.

Question 16

Lysosomes digest food particles brought into a cell by endocytosis. After a vesicle containing food particles fuses with a lysosome, H+ ions are transported into the lysosome from the cytosol. This significantly lowers the pH of the lysosome relative to the cytosol and activates the enzymes that digest the particles.

Which of the following best predicts what will happen to the lysosomal enzymes if the proteins that transport H+ ions from the cytosol into the lysosome are damaged?

Answer 16

The lysosomal enzymes will not become active, since there will be no active transport of H+ ions.

Question 17

Which of the following transport mechanisms will be affected most directly by a temporary shortage of ATP molecules inside the cell?

Answer 17

The transport of glucose molecules against a concentration gradient

Question 18

Some membrane proteins help maintain the concentrations of ions inside a cell by transporting the ions across the cell’s plasma membrane. Other membrane proteins form pores in the plasma membrane through which the ions can diffuse. A model showing the influence of membrane proteins on the movement of sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) ions across a plasma membrane is presented in Figure 1.

The figure presents a bilayer plasma membrane, which separates the cytosol from the extracellular region. In the cytosol, the concentration of N a plus is low, and the concentration of K plus is high. In the extracellular region, the concentration of N a plus is high, and the concentration of K plus is low. Three membrane proteins are embedded in the plasma membrane. One protein has a channel, through which N a plus leaks into the cytolsol from the extracellular region. Another protein has a channel, through which K plus leaks out from the cytosol into the extracellular region. A third protein is a pump protein, through which Na plus is pumped out from the cytosol to the extracellular region and K plus is pumped into the cytosol from the extracellular region.
Figure 1. Section of a cell’s plasma membrane, showing ion concentrations and membrane proteins

Based on the model presented in Figure 1, which of the following changes will most likely result from a depletion of available ATP stores inside the cell?

Answer 18

The Na+ concentration inside the cell will increase.

Question 19

A study was conducted to understand the factors controlling the rate at which molecules or ions travel across cell membranes. An artificial membrane was created that was composed of a phospholipid bilayer only. The speed at which various substances crossed this membrane was measured.

Some substances can pass through an actual cell membrane much faster than they passed through the artificial membrane in this study. Which of the following statements best explains this finding?

Answer 19

Actual cell membranes have a variety of proteins embedded in the membrane that are absent in the artificial membrane.

Question 20

A magnesium sulfate solution taken orally can cause a net movement of water into the large intestine, which results from water molecules diffusing through aquaporins embedded in the cells of the intestinal lining.

By which of the following mechanisms do the water molecules most likely move into the large intestine?

Answer 20

By passive transport from an area of low osmolarity to an area of high osmolarity

Question 21

Aldosterone (a steroid hormone) is a small, nonpolar, hydrophobic molecule that enters a target cell by moving across the plasma membrane, down a concentration gradient.

Based on the information presented, how does aldosterone most likely enter target cells?

Answer 21

By simple diffusion because aldersterone can enter a cell by moving across the plasma membrane and moving down the concentration gradient.

Question 22

Figure 1

A student is using dialysis bags to model the effects of changing solute concentrations on cells. The student places one dialysis bag that contains 25 mL of distilled water into each of two beakers that are filled with 200 mL of distilled water. (Figure 1). The membrane of each dialysis bag membrane contains pores that allow small solutes such as monoatomic ions to pass through but are too small for anything larger to pass. After 30 minutes, 5 mL of a concentrated solution of albumin (a medium-sized, water-soluble protein) is added to one of the two beakers. Nothing is added to the other beaker. After two more hours at room temperature, the mass of each bag is determined. There is no change in the mass of the dialysis bag in the beaker to which no albumin was added.

Which of the graphs below best represents the predicted change in mass over time of the dialysis bag in the beaker to which albumin was added?

Answer 22

Answer B
Correct: The graph indicates no change in the mass of the dialysis bag for the first 30 minutes in an isotonic environment and then shows a decrease in mass when the environment became hypertonic with the addition of albumin.

Question 23

Some viral infections can lead to the rupture of the lysosome membrane. Which prediction of the effect of this disruption of cellular compartmentalization is most likely correct?

Answer 23

Hydrolytic enzymes will be released, which will cause cell death.

Question 24

Gaucher disease is an inherited disorder in which cells of the body are unable to break down a particular type of lipid, resulting in a buildup of the lipid in some tissues and organs.

Based on the information provided, Gaucher disease results most directly from a defect in the function of which of the following organelles?

Answer 24

The lysosome

Question 25

Researchers have proposed a model of chloroplast evolution. According to the model, chloroplasts evolved from a small prokaryotic organism that was engulfed by an ancestral eukaryote. The engulfed prokaryote then formed an endosymbiotic relationship with the eukaryotic host.

Which of the following observations best supports the model?

Answer 25

Chloroplasts and some prokaryotes share similar photosynthetic reactions.

Question 26

Which of the following observations best supports the claim that mitochondria evolved from once-free-living prokaryotic cells by the process of endocytosis?

Answer 26

Mitochondria are surrounded by a double membrane.

Question 27

Euglenids are single-cell eukaryotes that live in aquatic environments. The chloroplasts found inside euglenids are enveloped by three membranes, as represented in Figure 1. The inner membrane of euglenid chloroplasts resembles the thylakoid membrane.

The figure presents a Euglenid. A chloroplast is labeled inside the euglenid. There is also an enlarged zoomed-in figure of a portion of the chloroplast. The three membranes of the envelope that surrounds the chloroplast are labeled Chloroplast Envelope, and the innermost membrane of the three is labeled Inner Membrane. The zoom-in also shows a portion of a thylakoid inside the chloroplast itself, and a label points to the thylakoid membrane.
Figure 1. Simplified diagram of a euglenid, showing the structure of the chloroplast envelope

Which of the following claims about the origin of the euglenid chloroplast is best supported by the three-membrane structure of the envelope?

Answer 27

It originated from the incorporation of a photosynthetic prokaryote into a eukaryotic cell by two endosymbiotic events.

Question 28

Beetroot cells contain a family of dark red pigments called betalains. The selectively permeable nature of the beetroot cells keeps the internal environment of the cell separate from the external environment of the cell. Researchers are interested in determining whether the selective permeability of beetroot cells is due to the cell membrane or if it is due to the cell wall.

Exposure to cellulase is known to damage the structure of the cell wall. An experiment is set up in which beetroot cells are placed in an aqueous solution with cellulase and in one without cellulase.

Which of the following results best refutes the alternative hypothesis that selective permeability is a consequence of the cell wall?

Answer 28

When beetroot cells are placed in a solution with cellulase, the solution remains clear.

Question 29

Two competing hypotheses exist regarding the cell membrane structure. One hypothesis states that membrane structure is static and membrane components throughout the bilayer are rigidly bound. Alternatively, the other hypothesis states that cell membranes are a fluid mosaic in which membrane components may drift within the bilayer around the surface of the cell. An experiment is set up in which membrane proteins of two different cells are fluorescently labeled with two different colors and then fused as shown in Figure 1.

The figure presents a model of a cell fusion experiment. There are two cells, and the membranes of each cell have proteins embedded in them. The membrane proteins in one cell are colored grey, and the membrane proteins in the other cell are colored black. The figure shows the grey cell and the black cell beginning to merge.
Figure 1. Model of initiation of cell fusion experiment

Which of the following results, one hour after membrane fusion, best supports the alternative hypothesis that the cell membrane is a fluid mosaic?

Answer 29

Answer D
Correct. The membrane proteins from each cell have mixed and drifted within the bilayer, which supports the fluid mosaic model of cell membranes. Cell membranes consist of a structural framework of phospholipid molecules that is embedded with proteins and steroids that may flow around the surface of the cell within the bilayer.

Question 30

The cell membrane is selectively permeable due to its structure. Thus, the internal environment of the cell is distinct from the external environment of the cell. One biologist hypothesizes that small nonpolar molecules readily pass through the membrane. Another biologist alternatively hypothesizes that these types of molecules require channel and transport proteins that are embedded in the membrane in order to move across the membrane.

Which of the following data would best refute this alternative hypothesis?

Answer 30

CO2 and N2 movement in and out of cells is unaffected when membrane protein activity is blocked.